The HSE has confirmed the testing backlog for Covid-19 has been eliminated.
1,000 tests a day have been carried out in labs this week - and there are plans to ramp that up further.
A particular focus is being put on nursing homes, with 4,000 residents and staff being tested this weekend.
There are currently 248 outbreaks in those settings - and the HSE's Dr Colm Henry said:
"We're not unique in this, this has been a challenge faced by every country where Covid-19 has been. It's because of the vulnerability of the population.
"It's becoming clearer to us now that we need to aggressively test these people, identify cases and go beyond the case definition, and look at people who don't have symptoms at all.
"Be them [Whether they are] healthcare workers or residents, we need to test so we can distinguish outbreaks wherever they are."
